The two looming issues for the Cleveland Browns still have no certainty of having conclusions anytime soon. Connected to each other, the acquisition of QB Deshaun Watson with the possibility of him being suspended and the divorce with former QB Baker Mayfield have been the team’s primary storylines this offseason.
While few think Mayfield will be around for the start of training camp, anything is possible at this point.
Many believe, given an agreement between the two lawyers in the civil cases, that Watson’s possible suspension could be delayed until the 2023 season. That feeling changed last week when the NFL flew to Houston to meet with the quarterback.
Now, according to Watson’s lawyer Rusty Hardin, there is an expectation that the league will make a decision before the civil cases conclude:
“We should know what their position is initially sometime in June, and then everybody will figure out if there’s going to be a hearing about it or can people work things out, or whatever,” Hardin told cleveland.com by phone on Friday evening. “The only thing that’s certain is that they want to try to get everything done this summer — and earlier than later in the summer. Past that, we don’t really have any firm dates or possibilities.”
Perhaps the most interesting statements are those at the end where Hardin notes a desire to conclude the process this summer.
In the same interview, Watson’s lawyer notes that they are expecting the league to meet with the quarterback again.